The Use of Head Coverings: I Cor.11:3-16

Though this passage’s discussion about head coverings has several interpretive ambiguities, it also contains several very clear truths. The first is that there is a divine order in creation: “Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ.” The apostle John explained this clearly: “As the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge.” (5:26,27; see also 5:19-22)

Secondly, since the Father and the Son are both fully God (Jn.5:22,23), then the discussion about headship and submission has nothing to do with superiority. Though God gives different roles to husbands and wives, the are fully equal in their standing before God: “Woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman.” (11:11,12)

The third clear truth is that wives are warned not to dishonor their husbands. (11:5) In Paul’s day they dishonored their husbands by not wearing a shawl over their hair. Though in most cultures today a lack of a head covering doesn’t communicate disrespect, wives should be concerned about how they can honor their husbands. Wives, how do you talk about your husbands’ in public? Do you trumpet his failures or do you praise his successes? (You may need to look hard to find our successes!) How do you treat your husband in private? Do you badger him for his lack of commitment to you and the kids? Or do you praise his stumbling attempts to be a husband and father? (We are slow learners!)

Finally, there is a clear message to us husbands -- we desperately need our wives to be complete: Man is not “independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman.” How can husbands develop this interdependence? We husbands need to ask our wives’ opinions: “How am I doing as a father? Do the kids respect me?” We need to remember that being the leader doesn’t mean that we have to control all of the decisions. If a wife is a better organizer, let her decide where to put things in the garage. If she is a better money manager, let her set up the household budget. The wearing of a head covering communicated timeless principles. We can do away with the head coverings but we must not do away with the timeless principles.


February 5 Study: I Cor.11:17-34
It is easy to let our practice of the Lord's Supper lose its reality and simply turn into a ritual. Paul had strong words to correct the abuses that were taking place in Corinth. What was wrong in Corinth? How should the Lord's Supper be pracaticed?


Next Prayer Fellowship: Feb.12, 6 P.M. Any volunteers to host?

Spiritual Exercise

I Cor.9

Jesus warned that not many will experience life the way God intended it to be: “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (7:13f) All of us are confronted with a gate and a road. The gate is our door to God’s kingdom. All who have become Christians have made it through that gate. But our journey isn’t complete when we have walked through that gate. The Christian has the task of walking the “narrow road” of the Christian life. Christ’s implication is that few will find the gate and even fewer will remain on the road.

Similarly, the apostle Paul believed that all Christians were running a race that has eternal prizes at stake. He feared that he might “be disqualified for the prize.” He knew that faithful service to Christ would result in receiving “a crown that will last forever.” It was his focused aim to run “in such a way as to get the prize.”

And what is that way? The only way to receive these rewards is by developing the self-discipline (“strict training”) that is demonstrated by athletes. Paul claimed that he would beat his body and make it his slave so that he wouldn’t be disqualified from the race. We can’t let tired, lazy, sick, aging, aching bodies control our actions. Our bodies must become slaves to our God-directed and God-empowered wills. Many Christians discipline other areas of their lives but not their spiritual lives. Author Donald Whitney has observed: "I’ve seen Christians who are faithful to the church of God, who frequently demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for the things of God, and who dearly love the Word of God, trivialize their effectiveness for the kingdom of God through lack of discipline. Spiritually they are a mile wide and an inch deep. "

Is your spiritual life flabby and out of shape? Start slowly possibly ten minutes of Bible reading and five minutes of prayer each day.

Does your spiritual training need to go to the next level? You may need to increase your commitment to God’s word, start regularly reading Christian books, or set aside an extended block of time in your week to more seriously pray, meditate, seek God.

January 29: Next prayer/potluck. Any volunteers to host?

Remember: the choices we make have eternal consequences.